food assistance

Ypsilanti’s SOS Community Services will hold a public meeting on March 19th to address stakeholder and community concerns about funding amid ongoing federal cuts. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has details.

The US Department of Agriculture released a Food Price Outlook economic report forecasting food prices to continue to increase over the next 18 months. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has more on how this might impact local food pantries.

There are times when help is desperately needed, and it feels like there is nowhere to turn. Providing that resource is the mission of the 2-1-1 program. Dial 2-1-1, and you can be connected to assistance for critical services like housing, food, utility assistance and more. This is a nationwide program, and, in our area, the help center is administered by the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. WEMU's David Fair was joined by 2-1-1 operations director Tasha Ball to learn more about the program and how it can serve as the connection needed to start the journey forward.

On Tuesday, we will finish up voting in the 2024 election cycle. Food and consumer prices and the economy have been right at the top of the issues people are concerned about. Putting politics aside, the folks at the Ypsilanti Food Co-op have been first-person witnesses to the impacts of these issues. General manager Corinne Sikorski joined WEMU's David Fair with her perspective on what it has meant to the bottom line and to the customers the co-op serves in our community.

For 53 years, the People’s Food Co-op in Ann Arbor has served the community in unique and interesting ways. The People’s Food Co-op is open to everyone but it's also a membership service. What role does it play in Ann Arbor? The co-op's General Manager, Angie Voiles, and Community Outreach and Communications Director, Troy Clarke, joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss the People's Food Co-op impact's in Ann Arbor.

The price of food is forcing some people to make some difficult decisions. The level of food insecurity among college students is increasing dramatically. Swoop's Food Pantry at Eastern Michigan University has seen the level of service it provides increase in recent years, and the projection is that the need will only grow. WEMU's David Fair talked with Swoop’s Pantry graduate assistant Colton Ray about what it takes and what it’s going to take to help a growing number of EMU students.

Ypsilanti nonprofits that are set up to help those with food insecurities are seeing an increase in the numbers looking for their assistance. On today's "On the Ground Ypsi," WEMU's Cathy Shafran and Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale discuss how some of those nonprofits are working to address the increased needs with Andrea Kelly, an Eastern Michigan University grad assistant at Swoop's Food Pantry.

For many children in Washtenaw County, when school goes away for the summer, so does a consistent source of food. To help solve this problem, Food Gatherers is bringing back its Summer Food Service Program. WEMU's Josh Hakala reports.

Food insecurity is growing in Washtenaw County, and your local postal worker is doing something about it. On Saturday, May 13th, letter carriers in our community will participate in "National Stamp Out Hunger Day." When delivering your mail, postal workers will pick up the non-perishable food items you leave out and turn it all over to Food Gatherers for distribution. John Odegard is president of Local Branch 434 of the National Association of Letter Carriers. He joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss the program and why letter carriers are working to make a different kind of difference for the people they serve.

The Growing Hope Urban Farm in Ypsilanti turns 20 next month. And as part of its 20th year, it's making some changes. It's growing hands-on workshops, like mushroom foraging and beekeeping and expanding its reach, so people in the community can invest in portions of the produce fields. And it's fine-tuning its farmer's market with additional focus on the online market. Growing Hope's new executive director, Julius Buzzard, talks all about Growing Hope's 20th year celebration activities with WEMU's Cathy Shafran and Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale.